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southern MN | I have difficult time discussing such things with a staunch 'union' person. My sister was, so we just avoided politics and such issues. :)
If they are venting steam on as issue like that, it often doesn't pay to say much.
There is a lot about the farm program I don't like; but it's there, so I gotta use it - all my competition does, can't leave the money laying on the table....
The govt likes to keep tabs on us farmers, and part of the govt program is to keep us under their thumb - a ransom.
The govt likes to keep a good food supply of cheap food in the USA - and to distrubute worldwide. The farm progam is a way to control that.
The govt has in the past, and often threatened to again - use food as a weapon, and crash worldwide market prices for political means. The farm program is a way to offer subsistance prices to farmers when such nonesense happens.
All in all, we farmers are just pawns in these dealings. If you are in commodity grains you can't afford to not be in the program, like it or not, and in bad times it offers you a 'minimum wage' sort of deal you can't really live on, but keeps you around for another year.
If the farm program were ended completely, 75-80% of the money spent on it is for poor-assistance - food stamps, school food programs, etc. Farmers would be at the mercy of the govts pulling the rug out from under them, and the uncertainty of grain production and proces would quickly ratchet grain prices up, causinbg food prices to go up more than the current tax money spent on the 'farm' portion of the farm program, causing a lot of social problems and increased assistence program spending. And govt meddling in grain exports would collapse the rural ecconomy, with no backstop to keep it going. This would be a very long-lasting issue affecting USA food supplies eventually.
Then I usually mention my cap bill is rounded from sitting by the mailbox looking in it waiting for the govt check...... With a big chuckle. Might as well say it before they do, keep the discussion interesting and not one-sided.
That's kinda how I describe it, if they see some of the points or want to understand any of the parts better, great, if they don't, on to the next topic, agruing it won't get anywhere thry want to complain about it, not understand it.
--->Paul | |
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farm subsidy
